Flameouts: Rock’s Biggest Talent-Squanders
July 2nd, 2008 by Eric Snider in NewsThe gutter that runs beside the road of rock history is littered with artists who squandered their talent, who flamed out, washed up, went in the tank. The reasons are many, the most popular being some manner of self-destructiveness. Artists who were real good at that sort of thing — from Hendrix to Cobain — left this mortal coil with their legacies intact.
But that’s an old rock ’n’ roll saw.
For today’s discussion, I’m interested in a more subtle type of squandering, the type whose reasons are not always easy to pinpoint. Often times, it’s little more than running out of ideas but continuing to hang on. In the process, they’ve ruined their legacies, or at the very least put them in serious peril.
So who in rock annals are the biggest talent-squanderers, who have authored the biggest falls from artist grace? Let me nominate a few, and pick a winner. As always, feel free to weigh in.
Elton John — From vibrant singer/songwriter and firebrand showman to chubby old queen with a braying voice. Elton reached his artistic pinnacle in 1973 with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road — that’s 35 years ago for those who don’t feel like doing the math — and was basically done two years later with Rock of the Westies.
Eric Clapton — From guitar God to middle-of-the-road hack. Clapton’s last great work was with Derek & the Dominoes in the early ’70s (his best, to my ears, was with Cream). His last album that mattered, barely? 461 Ocean Boulevard in 1974. For Chrissake, the guy made a smooth-jazz, acoustic guitar album within the last decade, and I’ll be damned if I’ll track down the title.
Billy Joel — From Long Island kid with a bad attitude and penchant for piano abuse to a bug-eyed baldie who in 2001 released the aptly titled Fantasies and Delusions, a collection of “classical” piano pieces. His last great album? 52nd Street, 1978. It was all over by ’83 and “Uptown Girl.”
Paul McCartney — From Beatle to musical dabbler who counts his millions and still tries to be the Cute One. Without The Beatles, McCartney has either been inconsistent or thoroughly lost. Last great album? Band on the Run, 1973. The messy Memory Almost Full, from 2007, earned some misguided critical plaudits. People still really want to like this guy.
Rod Stewart — From sandpaper-throated R&B strutter to milquetoast sap singing American standards. He’s the winner, the all-time talent squanderer. Stewart’s fall from grace was so precipitous that only people of a certain advanced age can even remember that, eons ago, he truly, genuinely rocked (if you doubt, listen to his version of “Stay With Me”). Stewart’s last great album was Every Picture Tells a Story, 1971. He was kaput, embarrassingly so, by 1978, with “Do You Think I’m Sexy?” and “Hot Legs.”
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Sting - The Police were amazing. Sting solo sucks. The one-man-band, Atom and His Package wrote a song about this, it’s called “Sting Cannot Possibly Be the Same Guy Who Was in the Police”. the song is a 29 second banal-sounding instrumental of new age synths.
http://www.last.fm/music/Atom+and+His+Package/_/Sting+Cannot+Possibly+Be+the+Same+Guy+Who+Was+In+the+Police
that about sums it up.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:00 pm
What qualifications do you possess that back up this self-indulgent rant? Who made you a critic? Can you play an instrument or sing well enough to make a good living at it?
It doesn’t require any talent or wisdom to carp away at those who are far above you in stature, ability and popularity. Small minds like yours that try to advance themselves by slinging insults at icons disgust me. Please just shut up.
-Rock
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:35 pm
I’m with Rocky Frisco. Since you obviously have no writing skill, what talent do you posses that gives you the power to belittle those who have achieved so much? When have you ever risked anything in your own life? Do us all a favor and shut up. Don’t return again until you’ve accomplished something . Slinging mud from the stands counts for nothing.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 am
rocky and jupiter,
ok, i’m gonna go to bat for wade on this one. i agree with him 100%. these folks haven’t put out ANY relevant music in a long time. they all have put some amazing, timeless albums, but they should have stopped or taken a break at some point. take a few or 10 years off, see the world that you missed while you were on the tour bus, spend time with your family, relax and enjoy the money you’ve made. then, work on some new music and blow people away with it.
few bands have a staying power of more than maybe 10 years, let alone 35 years. of those that have been around that long, a lot should have thrown in the towel. what was the last decent thing that aerosmith did? ac/dc? the rolling stones? you know, if aerosmith puts out a new record that is full of “power-ballads”, that doesn’t mean you have to buy it because they wrote ‘walk this way’. you know deep down that this (hypothetical) new record will suck. so don’t buy it. just because they did a ton of smack in the 70s and and put out ‘toys in attic’ doesn’t mean that you have to buy the “polar express” elf-rock band’s new crap.
as far as why is wade qualified to write this… i may not agree with everything he writes and i may not like all the music he listens to, but he knows his shit. he may not be the best writer 100% of the time, but who is?
what makes eric clapton’s “stature” far above wade’s, or anyone else’s for that matter. we’re all human, why is clapton any better than anyone else.
furthermore, we shouldn’t be idolizing anyone. sonic youth said it best with “kill yr idols”. you can use clapton or joel and an influence or mentor, but idols, no.
so, thats all i got for you two clowns. care to question my credentials on this one?
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 am
Gabe: Actually, this was Snider’s post and, by and large, I’m in agreement with him/you. I’m also in agreement with you that Sting solo is about as exciting as smooth jazz.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:09 am
wade,
HA!i just saw the haters posting comments, so i just guessed it was you that wrote it… but i’ll back up eric to death on this, too. my same comments apply regarding why eric is qualified to write this. i might not agree with everything he writes, but he knows his shit. the fact that i couldn’t tell who wrote it just by reading the post tells me we have some pretty consistent writing going on over here when it comes to pieces like this one.
and wade, i’ll owe you one defending rant as soon as you piss someone off again. so, i guess i’ll probably be writing that today, right?
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Just a snippet from All Music Guide:
Memory Almost Full is so melodic and memorable, it’s easy to take for granted his skill as a craftsman, particularly here when it feels so natural and unforced, even when it takes left turns, which it thankfully does more than once. Best of all, this is the rare pop meditation on mortality that doesn’t present itself as a major statement, yet it is thematically and musically coherent, slowly working its way under your skin and lodging its way into your cluttered memory. On the surface, it’s bright and accessible, as easy to enjoy as the best of Paul’s solo albums, but it lingers in the heart and mind in a way uncommon to the rest of his work, and to many other latter-day albums from his peers as well.
And besides, Wayne Garcia, your brother in musical taste, loves it.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
What qualifications do you possess that back up this self-indulgent rant?
This qualifies Snider.
Who made you a critic?
No one did. Stop asking me that question.
Richard Thompson is more deserving than Eric Clapton of the guitar God title.
I’m just amazed that Snider finally wrote a article that didn’t mention Steely Dan. See Google for details.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Perfect list. These artists are all terrible now.
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I disagree wholly on the Paul McCartney selection. I’m not as big of a nut as some of my friends, but I have to agree that PMc is one of the best writers of love songs the world over.
In addition to Almost Full - 2005’s Chaos and Creation was also a good, solid album. His collaborations over the years are also worthy of noting. He may be a huge target, but he’s not worthy of this list.
He’s the fucking Walrus, man. You can’t mess with that.
And to the grumblers: it’s sometimes hard to bear in mind any music writer - any critic for that matter - is just stating a subjective, even if it’s an informed, opinion.
I’ve always felt any kind of criticism in print needs to carry a giant OPINION tag somewhere prominently, but most journalists and editors believe it’s an implied association. However, if it were noted that way, maybe everyone else wouldn’t get into such a lather at a piece like this, or a Top 25 list.
Think of it this way: I have plenty of friends who have opinions on a great number of subjects that I don’t agree with, but I’m never going to get that worked up and go after them about it. I might tease, I might argue, I might disagree, but I’m not going to get my blood pressure up over it. It stays friendly. Harder to do when you’re just reading words on a page.
I’m not sure though you can write about anything critically for any extended period of time and it not start to get haughty at a certain point.
It’s when opinion starts to be stated as fact, and an honest passion for your beat turns into snarky first-rate douchery that things break down. I think any critic has to find the way to always first and foremost remain a fan, a lover and an idealist - and not just turn jaded with time and exposure and sit back with arms crossed and an “impress me” scowl on their face.
Eric genuinely strikes me as a fan, a lover. I see the excited gleam of a teenager in his eyes when it comes to certain bands, I can read it in his words. My jury is still out on Wade, but as long as he’s Eric’s Padawan I’m sure he’ll be steered in the right direction.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Jenkins: For what it’s worth, here’s my four-star review of Macca’s “Memory Full.”
http://tampa.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/spins/Content?oid=252698
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
David,
Paul WAS the walrus, he hasn’t been for some time. paul stopped being the walrus and still but out some great music after the beatles, but it’s been a sad state of affairs in recent years when it comes to his output. the dude’s had a rough time of it since 1980. lennon got killed, paul was pretty upset about that, then the 80s forced a lot of artist to sound like crap (ebony and ivory), his wife died, george died, he’s getting divorced. paul has had a lot going on. he may still be a gifted song writer, but maybe he needs to take my aforementioned break and ride out all this shit. maybe he can throw us a great album in a year or two. of all the folks on this list of opinions, paul has probably fared the best. but like most great bands, the whole is by far, greater than the sum. look at the solo work of any of the beatles vs. revolver or abby road… you get the point.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Well done, Wade. Must have missed that one in the paper.
July 5th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
As a huge Clapton fan (started with my affection for Cream), I certainly would have liked to have seen him do more.
He’s not just a great musician, but a great song writer as well. He still dabbles, but he could really eclipse a great deal of the rubbish that’s been produced in the past decade or two.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Man, one of the biggest talent squanderers of all time has GOT to be Axl Rose. Man, I was dead-on into hard-edge punk/alt at the time, but “Appetite For Destruction” really made me take notice. It had teeth and wasn’t afraid to bite. I truly thought it was going to save arena rock. Alas…